Directions

[Scarlett]

Our community is having a clean up day in a few weeks. A dumpster is provided and people can take stuff there for free. I asked our FB coordinator where the dumpster would be. I kid you not his exact words ' on the dirt road half way around the bend'.

 

LOL

[HomeAgain]

Sounds 'bout right. LOL 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I had a friend who moved to Idaho when we were in high school.  He sent us a picture of his driver's licence, which listed his address as "8 miles up ____ Road".  LOL!

[Selkie]

That's how directions are given where I live. Everyone would know exactly where he meant. :)

[Laura Corin]

My favourite place for addresses was Taiwan: the main roads had names and were marked off in sections, then the minor roads were numbered, so an address would be something like Wu Xing Street East, Section 2, Lane 43, alley 3, number 6, flat 3.  So easy!

 

Meanwhile, I now live in a village of 100 houses - none of the streets have names and none of the houses have numbers.  There is a map at the village hall and all the delivery guys know to visit that first before trying to deliver.  When I walk the dog, I often redirect lost and frustrated drivers.

[kiana]

One I've actually been given is "Turn left where the old corner store used to be"

[heartlikealion]

Lol I hate directions like that. My church put up a memorial for two nuns and said it was at ___ park. Well, the only park I knew with that name was in another town. I googled and looked on facebook. I could NOT find this park, except where it was mentioned in an article. But all I know is the town, not the address. So finally I just admitted to another parishioner... I don't know where that park is. So now I know.

 

Recently a homeschool group said they are meeting for archery at some location I never heard of. It took several internet searches to find a street address. The guy hosting the group told people it was across from blah blah blah. Finally someone asked for an exact address and he said he didn't know lol. I posted the link to the thing I found.

[heartlikealion]

My favourite place for addresses was Taiwan: the main roads had names and were marked off in sections, then the minor roads were numbered, so an address would be something like Wu Xing Street East, Section 2, Lane 43, alley 3, number 6, flat 3.  So easy!

 

Meanwhile, I now live in a village of 100 houses - none of the streets have names and none of the houses have numbers.  There is a map at the village hall and all the delivery guys know to visit that first before trying to deliver.  When I walk the dog, I often redirect lost and frustrated drivers.

 

Maybe easy to find but sounds like a pain to say LOL

 

People get lost finding our house all the time. GPS doesn't find it. Half the time I order online it says "are you sure that's the address you want to use?" or "this doesn't exist" LOL. Luckily I can usually ship to the PO box or vice versa. Dh has put numbers on the house before. They flew off in a storm. He recently put up a new sign with outdoor tape. It fell on the first day! Ugh!! So much for not putting holes in the house. I'd just put numbers on a mail box but we're not allowed to put a mail box in front of our house??

 

[Laura Corin]

One I've actually been given is "Turn left where the old corner store used to be"

 

I heard one from India which was 'turn left where the elephant used to be'.  I don't know if that's apocryphal.

[Laura Corin]

Maybe easy to find but sounds like a pain to say LOL

 

 

The problem was that they weren't memorable - you had to write them down because it was all random numbers.

[Pegasus]

One I've actually been given is "Turn left where the old corner store used to be"

 

My grandmother once told me to "Turn left at the intersection where that girl was hit."  I'm sure a local that was familiar with the local news from years past would have understood. . .

[J-rap]

haha, maybe that's the only dirt road in town?

 

In our town (a small town), houses are always known as whoever the original or most prominent owner was.  So, if you live in the home that the long ago banker "Smith" lived in, you'd tell the plumber that you lived in the Smith home and he'd know where to go.  Or if you lived in the home originally owned by the "Thorson" family, you'd say you lived in the Thorson home.

 

 

[Moonhawk]

One I've actually been given is "Turn left where the old corner store used to be"

 

I'm sorry, you were probably talking to me, lol

[Annie G]

haha, maybe that's the only dirt road in town?

 

In our town (a small town), houses are always known as whoever the original or most prominent owner was.  So, if you live in the home that the long ago banker "Smith" lived in, you'd tell the plumber that you lived in the Smith home and he'd know where to go.  Or if you lived in the home originally owned by the "Thorson" family, you'd say you lived in the Thorson home.

 

It's kind of like that here. Someone once told me to turn where the Pizza Inn was. Told them I don't know where that is and they sighed and told me it's where the Mexican restaurant is.  So Pizza Inn has been gone for 20 years...just tell me directions based on what's there NOW.  It happens all the time here. If people did that with houses it would drive me nuts because I didn't grow up here. 

[Daria]

My college roommate is the opposite.  She gives directions like this:

 

So, you'll be driving along and on the right there's a daycare center, it'll be May when you come so there will be big flowers on the windows, the kind made of giant coffee filters and food coloring, Johnny's niece made one when she was there, it's on her grandma's fridge now..  Anyway, when you see those flowers, don't do anything there, just keep going.  Then on the left there will be a barber shop, with 3 chair outside . . . 

 

The last time I drove to see her I was pulling over to check "Wait what am I supposed to do when I see coffee filter flowers?"

[wintermom]

I can see where it's confusing "where the streets have no name."  In my city, many streets may have name changes 2 or 3 times along them. These are usually the major arteries, too.  It can be really hard to remember what the name of them is at certain points. 

 

 

Edited September 2, 2017 by wintermom

[Elizabeth86]

That's how directions are given where I live. Everyone would know exactly where he meant. :)

yep

[Elizabeth86]

It's kind of like that here. Someone once told me to turn where the Pizza Inn was. Told them I don't know where that is and they sighed and told me it's where the Mexican restaurant is. So Pizza Inn has been gone for 20 years...just tell me directions based on what's there NOW. It happens all the time here. If people did that with houses it would drive me nuts because I didn't grow up here.

lol we do that too. We say turn by the old _____ instead of saying turn by the whatever is actually there now.

[Scarlett]

For the life of me I can't figure out what is so difficult about using an address. Especially for a public event on a public forum.

[Farrar]

There was an old SNL skit that was like this about New Englanders giving directions and they were all crazy. I just remember that the right answer to one was "You can't get there from here!" and another was "Whatd'ya wanna go there for?"

 

My father was infamous for giving directions that were just turn here, turn there, and then "just follow your nose." I'm like, Dad, I've never been there, my nose has no sense memory of how to get there. This is not helpful.

[Elizabeth86]

For the life of me I can't figure out what is so difficult about using an address. Especially for a public event on a public forum.

We only got streeet names 15 years ago or, so Im guessing thats why. There are so many places I have no idea what the real names are.

[Pegasus]

My college roommate is the opposite.  She gives directions like this:

 

So, you'll be driving along and on the right there's a daycare center, it'll be May when you come so there will be big flowers on the windows, the kind made of giant coffee filters and food coloring, Johnny's niece made one when she was there, it's on her grandma's fridge now..  Anyway, when you see those flowers, don't do anything there, just keep going.  Then on the left there will be a barber shop, with 3 chair outside . . . 

 

The last time I drove to see her I was pulling over to check "Wait what am I supposed to do when I see coffee filter flowers?"

 

This is awesome and I love directions like this.  Then I know that I'm still going the right way, even if it isn't time to do anything yet.  I once had a co-worker that gave directions this detailed. He was very observant and able to describe everything that I would see.  I miss him.

 

I just remembered another set of directions I've received, this time from my brother.  He described the road I would be traveling on T-ing into another road. He said, "Now, you will feel like you need to turn right but turn left."  I don't know how he knew that but sure enough, when I got to that intersection, right felt the correct way to go.

[heartlikealion]

I'm a landmarks person, but I like an address, too. I like current landmarks vs "used to be" stuff. I told dh I wanted the GPS with landmarks. I'm pretty sure that's a thing. But the one I have doesn't tell me anything like that.

 

I really want to know in advance which lane to be in, too.

 

We don't even have a street sign. I have told people to look for the street name on some of the mail boxes that have it.

[teachermom2834]

I am in a small town but not THAT small. I think we have a population of about 45,000. I have trouble getting local service people out to the house. When I try to give an address they ask me who used to live in my house. ??? I don't know- it was sold a few times in the years before we bought it and we never met the out of town owner and just dealt with the realtor. I can't remember the name and they are probably looking for the name of the original owner??

 

It's a strange dance we do. Our house is in a well known subdivision and is not hard to find by address. Local folks seem resistant to coming to the house unless they know which one it is??

 

We have had better luck calling companies in the next town over. They are willing to come by google maps and seem less skeptical of someone they don't know.

 

I also am constantly reminding people that I am new here and can't locate places with directions that include landmarks that used to be there years ago.

[Murphy101]

I'll take any directions over being told a street address and asking for directions and people can't tell anything about the location. Nearest intersection? Don't know. What's it near? Don't know.

 

I have trust issues with GPS, but aside from that, people should know how they got to work or home?

[Guest]

One I've actually been given is "Turn left where the old corner store used to be"

That's how my mom does it. "temember that bakery that burned down when you were little?" Yeah, sure mom.

[Guest]

For the life of me I can't figure out what is so difficult about using an address. Especially for a public event on a public forum.

There are no addresses where I live. For nearly 100 miles, there are no addresses. Everyone's address is a post office box. If you want to know where someone lives, they say, "Smith Ranch, gate 3" or "Jones Ranch, gate 5, 20 miles in". You're just supposed to know where those are.

Edited September 2, 2017 by Kinsa

[MEmama]

One I've actually been given is "Turn left where the old corner store used to be"

Yup. We first encountered this when we lived in NB. It was assumed your family had lived there forever, so directions like "go past where the Macfarlans old place used to be, continue past the big gravel pile, then turn at the eagle nest" used to confound us. Oddly, though, they were always right (if we could figure what used to be where).

 

Now we give directions like that here. Lol. No idea what the street names are half the time, but landmarks work better anyway. :)

[MEmama]

I am in a small town but not THAT small. I think we have a population of about 45,000. I have trouble getting local service people out to the house. When I try to give an address they ask me who used to live in my house. ??? I don't know- it was sold a few times in the years before we bought it and we never met the out of town owner and just dealt with the realtor. I can't remember the name and they are probably looking for the name of the original owner??

 

It's a strange dance we do. Our house is in a well known subdivision and is not hard to find by address. Local folks seem resistant to coming to the house unless they know which one it is??

 

We have had better luck calling companies in the next town over. They are willing to come by google maps and seem less skeptical of someone they don't know.

 

I also am constantly reminding people that I am new here and can't locate places with directions that include landmarks that used to be there years ago.

We've learned a lot about the history of our house from service people. They would totally know if I referred to it as where "the old X used to be". :)

[Junie]

Directions where my FIL lives are interesting.  Go out the driveway and turn right.  Go up the road a piece to the church and turn left.  Go over the bridge and turn right.  Go through the holler and...

 

Or, (my favorite):

 

Go to the traffic light and it will be the second building on the left.  The traffic light (the only one in the county) is 40 minutes away.  :)

[JenneinCA]

Directions like that used to make my Dad totally confused when we visited my Mom's family in rural South Dakota. Everyone knew everyone, except my Dad who grew up in San Diego and had no idea who any of the people or landmarks were. Dad got lost getting to my uncle's house so many times and so reliably that Uncle Mel would warn all the neighbors when we were coming so that they wouldn't be surprised when Dad showed up in their yard. The neighbors would get on their tractors and lead him to where he needed to go. I assume they laughed at the city dweller who got lost all the time, but there was nothing else to do.

 

(Neighbors in this sense is everyone within a ten mile radius. It was bunch of unmarked dirt roads that you had know when to turn. Fields of soy beans look all the same.)

[Lizzie in Ma]

That made me giggle out loud.  That is totally how we give directions around here.  "go down the road until you see the ugly yellow house with the maroon shutters, then take a left up the hill and the next telephone pole" 

 

I remember many good ones from my old neighborhood too, "remember the old barn down by the pond, it's about a half mile from that on the left".  "ok look for the big fallen tree that juts out over that rock pile by the powerlines, then come down a little further by the old Jone's place and hook a right onto the dirt road"

 

Yeah, that's how we roll.

[Scarlett]

We have addresses here. But I am sure it hasn't been that long since there weren't addresses or street names and the main roads were name after the first person who built there. Quit a few people refer to a number road as Johnson road.

 

I do understand it having come from a small town where everyone knows everyone.

 

I prefer to know street names. I have friends who try to give me directions to a mutual friends home and they dont know the street name!

 

I like a combination approach. An actual address and a few landmarks. 'Turn left on 555 road. It is the main road north of town that used to have a flashing light and now has a full traffic light. It is also call Blue Lake Lane'

[DawnM]

Our community is having a clean up day in a few weeks. A dumpster is provided and people can take stuff there for free. I asked our FB coordinator where the dumpster would be. I kid you not his exact words ' on the dirt road half way around the bend'.

 

LOL

 

I want a free dumpster day!  I really could use it!

[Miss Tick]

Sometimes I miss those days. I occasionally rehearse really detailed directions to somewhere in my head, but nobody wants to hear it anymore. They just want an address and they'll Google it. Me too, truthfully.

[wendy not in HI]

I was talking to a new friend who used to live in my same neighborhood. It's just one road that ends in a loop, so not too big. Most of the neighbors have lived here forever. I described our home and said it was across from the chainsaw guy. Our across the street neighbor makes those chainsaw carvings of bears and eagles and stuff. Hard to miss, you know?

 

My new friend was so confused and insisted there are no homes across from the chainsaw guy. So strange. We couldn't figure it out.

 

The next time I saw her we discussed the location of my home again, and I mentioned the bear carving. And she said, oh, THAT chainsaw guy! It turns out that down the road there's another guy who does chainsaw repair (not that I would have any way of knowing that - no signs or chainsaws in his yard). Unlike "my" chainsaw guy with his carvings and woodchips and roar of the machine...

[Laura Corin]

My village suddenly sprouted street names on Google Maps a few years ago.  Suburban ones like 'Laburnum Avenue'.  They stayed for a few months then went away.  They certainly weren't official - no street signs went up, and no notices were posted to announce the naming.  I think that Google was using us as a copyright Easter Egg https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Copyright_Easter_Eggs